Dodgers’ Karros Rookie of Year : Baseball: First baseman gets 22 of 24 first-place votes. Moises Alou is second.

Eric Karros endured the comparisons to Steve Garvey, waited until a solid first baseman named Eddie Murray was gone and spent a season proving he could be a worthy replacement.

Now, others will be compared to him.

Clearly overshadowed by his team’s pallid season, the Dodger first baseman finally got to enjoy the spotlight Tuesday when he was named the National League rookie of the year.

“It’s like going from one end of the spectrum to the other,” Karros said from Osaka, Japan, where he is touring with a major league all-star team.

“Going into spring training, it didn’t look like I was going to make the team. With Kal (Daniels) and (Todd) Benzinger there, realistically, I knew they were not going to keep three first basemen.”

Karros, 25 today, was chosen first on 22 of 24 ballots and received 116 points from the Baseball Writers Assn. of America. He is the first Dodger to earn the honor since Steve Sax in 1982.

“I think I have proved that I am capable of playing at this level, and I don’t think this was a fluke,” Karros said. “I think I surprised other people with how I played, but it didn’t surprise me.”

Montreal outfielder Moises Alou was the runner-up with two first-place votes and 40 points, followed by Pittsburgh knuckleballer Tim Wakefield with 19 points.

“Eric worked so very hard in spring training last year to overcome his deficiencies. That’s what allowed him to have the kind of season he did,” Manager Tom Lasorda said.

“It didn’t come easy for him, and that’s why he so deserves this award. He paid the price and showed that you can have success with hard work.”

Karros hit .257 with 20 homers and had 88 runs batted in last season. His home run total was the highest by a Dodger rookie since Greg Brock, who also hit 20 in 1983, and his RBIs surpassed Ron Cey’s rookie record of 80 set in 1973. Karros led all rookies this season with 30 doubles.

But Karros almost didn’t make the roster out of spring training. After four consecutive seasons in the minors in which he hit .300 or better, he had only one hit in 14 appearances in his first stint in the majors, September of 1991.

After that, he went to winter ball in Venezuela and hit .113. He was released three weeks into the season.

But in spring training, Karros hit .370 with 11 RBIs. The Dodgers, who discussed sending him back to Albuquerque, decided he deserved the chance.

When Murray wasn’t re-signed and the Daniels experiment at first base fizzled, Karros got his chance. It was mid-May, and Karros said once he knew he would be starting every day, the season turned around.

“Tommy battled for me and said he would stick with me, but until I started every day, in the back of my mind I always wondered whether I was coming or going,” Karros said.

Karros bounced around in the batting order, hitting fourth 87 times when Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis did not play. With runners in scoring position, Karros hit .233 with four home runs and 55 RBIs.

He played in 149 games, the same as shortstop Jose Offerman and second only to center fielder Brett Butler’s 157.

“I proved I could play in the big leagues, but it was a frustrating year, a long year,” Karros said. “I had an opportunity the previous year to be up with the team during the pennant race, and that was an exciting time. I got to be there in the different cities and in Atlanta, and that’s what it is all about.

“Individually, this award is great, but it’s a team sport and a team game.”

Karros, who was a walk-on at UCLA, is used to having to prove himself. He was a marginal baseball prospect at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego. So marginal that on some visits to colleges, he and his father couldn’t get in to see the coaches.

UCLA Coach Gary Adams liked Karros’ size and gave him a chance. Karros struggled his first season to make the team, spending much of the year as a bullpen catcher. Once he became a starter, he hit a combined 25 homers with 111 RBIs during his sophomore and junior years and earned All-America honors. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Dodgers.

He progressed at a good pace through the minors, spending a season at each level, but it wasn’t as fast as he would have liked.

“It was that, regardless of how I was doing, I wasn’t going to get moved,” Karros said. “I felt I had proved myself at every level, and it was frustrating because I saw some guys in other organizations who were moving faster.

“Now, it doesn’t mean anything. Now, I just have to stay focused and stay here.”

Karros is the 12th Dodger to win Rookie of the Year honors, joining Jackie Robinson (1947), Don Newcombe (1949), Joe Black (1952), Jim Gilliam (1953), Frank Howard (1960), Jim Lefebvre (1965), Ted Sizemore (1969), Rick Sutcliffe (1979), Steve Howe (1980), Fernando Valenzuela (1981) and Sax (1982).

Alou, the son of Montreal manager Felipe Alou, hit .282 with nine homers and 56 RBIs. Wakefield was 8-1 with a 2.15 earned run average for the Pirates. He also won two games in the playoffs against Atlanta.

Dodger Notes

While first base position is secure, left field was made more unsettled Tuesday when Eric Davis filed for free agency. Davis’ agent, Eric Goldschmidt, says that he is still talking with the Dodgers and that Davis prefers to re-sign with the club. . . . “We both (the Dodgers and Davis) decided that filing for free agency was the best option and the appropriate action to take right now,” Goldschmidt said. “It gives us the opportunity to talk with other clubs.” Davis, who underwent surgery on his left wrist and shoulder in September, made $3.6 million in the final year of a three-year, $9.3 million contract. He hit .228 with 32 RBIs and five home runs in 76 games. . . . John Candelaria also filed for free agency, joining Dave Anderson, Mitch Webster, Roger McDowell and Bob Ojeda. Only two Dodgers remain undeclared, Mike Scioscia and Jay Howell. The deadline for filing is midnight Sunday.

Rookies of Year for the Dodgers

1947--Jackie Robinson

1949--Don Newcombe

1952--Joe Black

1953--Jim Gilliam

1960--Frank Howard

1965--Jim Lefebvre

1969--Ted Sizemore

1979--Rick Sutcliffe

1980--Steve Howe

1981--Fernando Valenzuela

1982--Steve Sax

1992--Eric Karros